Bulborb Larvae (ベビーチャッピー?, lit.: "Baby Chappy") are enemies in Pikmin 2. As their name would imply, they are juvenile Bulborbs. They have the typical beige snout of Bulborbs, but their behind is white with only a dab of red on the very end. A small, pointy appendage can be seen below the red spot, its use is unknown; it could be some form of tail, or an umbilical cord. Given that they are young, their size isn't much larger than that of a leader. They are the true juvenile grub-dogs, as Dwarf Bulborbs are members of the breadbug family and merely imitate Bulborbs. They are hard to kill in swarms, but have low health. Bulborb larvae are infamous for their ability to quickly kill Pikmin: the creature's bite is fast and fatal. However, the small creatures can be destroyed with one punch from a leader, so it is considered more effective to keep Pikmin away from the Larvae and attack with Olimar and his partner.

Bulborb Larvae are continuously born from certain Empress Bulblaxes. Only 50 can be on the sublevel at once, and once that cap is reached, the Empress falls asleep; it will reawaken once 25 or more are killed. The Empress's rolling attack can also crush these enemies, making it useful to clear out a large amount of Larvae.

Right as soon as they are born, the Larvae squeal and begin being active right away. They crawl along the floor, pursuing the closest leader in a straight line, and actually ignoring any Pikmin. This can be used to the player's advantage, by having one leader serve as bait. If it gets close to a leader or Pikmin, it will bite down, quickly and deadly. If it gets a Pikmin, it will chew on it for a very short amount of time. Although it can only eat one Pikmin at a time, the speed at which they feast and the sheer number of them can be devastating for an army of Pikmin. Moreover, unless the player uses an ultra-bitter spray, the creature does not release the Pikmin it is eating, which means the Pikmin cannot be saved even if the creature is supposed to be dead. The members of the Mandiblard family have a similar behavior, in Pikmin. Upon dying, it will melt away, and eventually disappear; one out of every five times, the Bulborb Larva will leave behind nectar. If a Purple Pikmin does the final blow, green mucus will splat out on the ground, and the creature will be shown dying more agonizingly.

The best way to kill a Larva with a Pikmin is to use Purple Pikmin. Purple Pikmin are capable of stunning and even killing a large group of Larvae. While eaten Pikmin can be saved by killing the creature before it finishes chewing, Bulborb Larvae are infamous for the small size of this time window, so attacking them with a leader instead is recommended.

A different strategy is to stun them with about three or four Purples, then call them back and throw a lot of Pikmin on the mother. If done quickly enough, it will roll over its larva, killing them.

It is not recommended to use Yellow Pikmin to defeat Bulborb Larva due to Yellow Pikmin's high trajectory when thrown; the Pikmin may miss the enemy and it may be too late to whistle them back. Red and Blue Pikmin may also be an unwise choice due to lower speed. White Pikmin are a better choice for speed, and in case the Bulborb Larva eats the Pikmin, their poison will at least finish them off.

Another way is to get the Pikmin you do not need and try to kill them in swarms by controlling them, though this method is not recommended as it can cause a lot of fatalities.

To note is that you should be careful with the pools of nectar, seeing that if a non-flower Pikmin touches one, it will drink it and become vulnerable until it is done.

A single punch from a leader is sufficient to kill a Bulborb Larva. Caution is advised, though, as they may still sneak in a bite as they are dying. The Rocket Fist, found in the same dungeon as the first encounter with the larvae can be used to kill many of them at once due to its range increase on the third strike.

A tactic that can be used in the later Empress Bulblax battles is to allow several dozen Larvae to be born, then attack the Empress so it can roll around the cavern. As this happens, almost every single Larva will be killed, releasing a number of pools of nectar for the Pikmin. In the second battle inside the Frontier Cavern, the larvae can be trapped in a ledge where the Research Pod is by baiting them, and after the Empress is dead, a leader can go down and defeat all of the larvae, resulting in many nectar pools. One strategy in killing the Empress is to have one leader, hopefully one that has full health, distract its larvae near its rear end while the other leader attacks it from the front.

Another suggestion is to let it give birth to several, lead them into a corner, and keep punching them one by one to receive up to 20 drops of nectar. You should do this with a leader at full health.

It is also possible to kill them using the Empress Bulblax herself, by standing in the hollow in front of it (as there always is), hurting the boss until it is forced to roll over, and letting it kill the larvae.

Notes

Olimar's notes

“

As its name implies, this creature is a bulborb in an early stage of development. Its distinct bulborb coloration has yet to appear, but it already exhibits other uniquely bulborb characteristics. It is capable of hunting nourishment independently without the help of its parents.

”

Louie's notes

“

This meager creature offers little meat, but its eyeballs are a local delicacy. Try them with okra and a dollop of sour cream!

The creature's name is due to the fact that it is an undeveloped larva of a mature Bulborb: it's missing most of its limbs and defining physical characteristics. The Japanese name, ベビーチャッピー? simply means "Baby Chappy", with Chappy being the Japanese name for Bulborb. The scientific name, Oculus bambinii, is Latin for "Child Eye"; Oculus is the Bulborb genus. Internally, it is called baby, over the Japanese name.

The bambinii part of its scientific name indicates that it does not belong to the same species as its progenitor, the Empress Bulblax (matriarcha). How this difference between parent and offspring species is possible is unknown.